Manthan
Manthan, also released under the translated title The Churning, is a 1976 Hindi film directed by Shyam Benegal, inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, and is written jointly by him and Vijay Tendulkar. It is set amidst the backdrop of the White Revolution of India. Aside from the great measurable success that this project was, it also demonstrated the power of "collective might" as it was entirely crowdfunded by 500,000 farmers who donated Rs. 2 each. Manthan is the first crowdfunded Indian film.
| Manthan | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Shyam Benegal |
| Written by | Kaifi Azmi (dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | Vijay Tendulkar |
| Story by | Verghese Kurien & Shyam Benegal |
| Produced by | Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. |
| Starring | Smita Patil Girish Karnad Naseeruddin Shah Amrish Puri |
| Cinematography | Govind Nihalani |
| Edited by | Bhanudas Divakar |
| Music by | Vanraj Bhatia |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Vijay Tendulkar, and was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for 1976.
The title song ("Mero Gaam Katha Parey") was sung by Preeti Sagar. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for that year. The song was later used as the soundtrack for the television commercial for Amul.